Loose-leaf binder



July 3, 1923. 1,460,663 H. A. DUDLEY vLOOSE LEAF BINDER Fi1ed Nov. 17, 1921 z-s'heesasetl 'am Jfowf/rd-A ,ad/ey,

July 3, 1923. 1,460,663 H. A. DUDLEY l.

' v LOOSE LEAF BINDER Filed Nov. 17, 1921 l 2 sheets-sheet 2 I 'IE- E v j 4 v c l l u n 2 u Patented July 3, 1923.

HOWARD A. -DUDLnY, or nnenns'rowu, MAIWLANDL4 j Loose-LEAF BINDER.

Application'led Novemberl', y1921. Serial No. 515,846. j

To all *whom t may concern: I

Be it known that I,"HowA'RD A.DUDLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at lalagerstown, in the county of Washington s and State of Maryland, have invented new and useful Improvements yin LooseLeaf` Binders, of which the following is a specification.

tering apertures in said flaps v One of the objects of the invention-is the provision of leaf-holding means comprising a .pairV of adjacent slidably arranged-elements removably inserted from opposite `dire'ctions through-apertures in the flaps, said elements constituting a leaf-holding bar longitudinally extensible to accommodate the A divergence of thek hinged flaps when .tige body of leaves is opened. Y Another obj ect'of the invention is the prol'vision of a twopart leaf-securing bar in- Isertable through a cylindrical perforationv Y in the body of leaves and lying axially thereof when the body of leaves is closed, the parts of said bar being so-constructed as to assume relative angularity to one another 'corresponding to therangular deviation from its axis of the two sections into which the cylindrical perforation is divided when the bodyl of leaves is opened. V

Another obj ect of the invention is the provision of a leaf-holding bar comprising pins having fiat contactingv surfaces, and having the inner end portions thereof tapered in 4o' planes parallel to the plane of their flat surfaces, said pins beinginsertable from opposite 'directions through non-circular apertures in the 'hinged' flaps -and through v'the Vcylindrical perforation in the body of leaves, said pins being held by the non-circular apertures in a position in which the tapered portions of the upper sides thereof will permit'the pins to assume Van angular relationship corresponding to the angular deviation of the two sections of said cylindrical perforationwhen the body of leaves is opened. With the above and other objects in View,

'my inventionconsists in the improved loose leaf binder'illustrated in the accompanying drawings, described in the following specification, and particularly claimed, and in such variations and modifications'thereof` asfV i will be obvious to those skilled in the art- 1 to which my invention relates.

In the drawings accompanying and .forming a part of vthis specification, and wherein the preferred embodiment of my invention-v is illustrated l Figure l is an elevational cross* section of one end of the loose-leaf binder'taken'in the plane of the leaf-securing bar.

Figure 2 isl a similar view showingthedf body of the leaves in open position. j

FiOure 3 is a plan view'of' the looseleaf .binder open at the first leaf. f v

Figure 4; 1s a view incross section tailen Figure 'is a detail View showing the ele l -ments of the leaf-holding bar.

Figure -6 is a plan view of y'alirrlodified form yof a loose-lea-f-binderopen at'the first leaf, portions thereof Afbeing` `broken away.

-lFigures 7 and 8 are viewsrespectivelyv inelevation and' plan of the the leaf-holding f Referring in detaillto the several figures of thedrawing the numeralsl 'andrepf* resent the front 'and rear coversoff the loose! leaf binder which are preferablyv made of an integral piece ofmaterial and may be stiff or flexible, as preferred.` This piece ofmaterial includes an intermediate portion 3, forming i the back of the binder, and is made.per'

-manently convex by havingsecured thereto the' solid convex bach-piece 4 which has fiat yupper side 5 lying,substantiallyiiusli made bf. fabric or other flexiblev material" folded-,to form a flange 8-whichis pasted lor otherwise fixed to the inner sidelfof the coverpiece. The *material* forming the 4hinged flap vis folded uponitselff as at9,

- with'the front and. rear covers of the binderf fioc a metallic reinforcing strip l0 beingretained withinthe fold and secured in place by means of eyelets ll andk 12, best shown v in Figure 3, byv which the folded portions f of thehinged flap/are. held together.- .At

suitable spaced points somewhat adjacent the upper and lower' ends of thebinder the hinged iiaps `6A and 7 and themetallfic strips 10 contained thereinare provided; with opnpositely arranged'nonfcircular apertures ll,

imv l eachhaving vaflatside, the flat Vside Vof the aperture in the one strip being in alignment with the flat 'side of the aperture of the other strip, the apertures in the two flaps being arranged on opposite sides of the common plane embracing their flat sides.

Each of these apertures is provided with a .pin lll and l5 insertable therethrough from opposite sides, the length of which is substantially equal to t-he distance apart of the hinged flaps when in parallel relation to one another. rlhe pins are headed at one end as shown at 16 and the heads are seated in countersunk depressions in the hinged flaps. One side of each pin is flattened so that said pin itsthe aperture in which it is inserted in a non-rotatable manner. rlhe portions of the sides of said pins remote from the head are tapered in planes corresponding to the plane of their flattened surfaces as shown at 18.

lVhen said pins are inserted in the appropriate apertures in the hinged flaps, their flat surfaces are substantially in contact and capable of sliding relative to one another, to allow for divergence of the hinged flaps when the body of leaves 19, held therein, is opened, permitting a substantially fiat openingv of the leaves. Said body of leaves provided with a cylindrical perforation into which the pins 14 `and l5 comprising the leaf-holding bar are inserted. llhen the body of leaves is divided into two portions in the act of opening the same, the cylindrical perforation will be separated into two sections which deviate angularly downward from the center of the cylindrical perforation. TWhile portions of the pins adjacent the heads thereof may lit the adjacent sections of said cylindrical perforation more or less snugly, the tapered shape of their inner portions permits a play between each pin and that section of the cylindrical perforation adjacent its inner portion, so that when the body of leaves is opened the pins free to assume relatively aneular positions to correspond to the angular deviation of the two parts of the cylindrical perforation through which they extend.

It is obvious that the angular deviation of the cylindrical perforation in the body of leaves will always be downward from the center and that the pins, therefore, need be tapered only on one side, in order to perfectly perform their func-tion. By tapering them on both sides, however, as shown in Figure Y, the pins are rendered interchangeable so that no confusion need arise when assembling the binder, in mating up the correct pins to form a pair.

W hen the binder is' opened, frictional resistance of the tapered inner end portion of each pin with that part of the cylindrical perforation with which it coacts prevents the inadvertent withdrawal of the pin from the cylindrical perforation, and when the binder is closed the front and rear cover portions preclude the accidental displacement of the pins. No locking means is therefore necessary and by opening either cover the pins on that side may be readily withdrawn to permit taking out of the leaves or the insertion of new leaves.

@ne of the drawbacks heretofore e-Xperienced in loose-leafbinders is the difliculty of keeping the leaves in alignment when it is desired to withdraw an int-act portion of the body of leaves in order to remove a particular intermediate leaf from said binder. ln this device it is only necessary to open the binder at the first leaf, remove the pins from the front iiap so as to release the latter, replace the pins in the body of leaves, grasp the bundle of leaves which is to be withdrawn without removing the pins, and4 to lift it bodily from the binder with one pin of each pair in place. The desired leaf may then be removed and the bundle returned yto its original position without disturbing the alignment of the cylindrical perforations therethrough.

Figure 6 shows a slight modification of the structure shown in lligure 3, the difference being that four pairs of leaf yholding bars are used instead of two pairs as shown in the device already described. This is for the purpose of preventing any Slight displacement or misalignnient in the leaves secured within the binder such as might happen at "he point where one ofthe pins terminates .short of the other as shown at 2l in Figure ln this case the perforations in the leaves which are retained by thesingle pin are largerv in one direction than the pin by which they are retained permitting a shifting of the leaves in this direction.

Ey providing the hinged Haps with double the number of flat sided apertures and arranging the fiat sides of the inner pair in direction opposite to thel fiatsides of the outer pair, shifting of the leaves will l e prevented even though the leaves be retained by'only one pin of each pair.

Although l have thus described the prjeferred embodiment of my invention, it is evident that those skilled in the arts to which this relates may make various changesk in the construction, combination and arrangement of the several parts without departing vention. f 1 f Having described my invention what l claim as new and desire to sec-ure by Letters APatent, is

l. in a loose-leaf binder,- a cover comprising front and rear portions foldable on each side ofy an intermediate portion, hinged aps secured to the inside of the cover along the folds, said flaps being provided with oppositely arranged non-circular apertures and a cooperating pins having heads engaged by from the spirit and scope of the iny said flaps, tting said apertures and inserted in. opposite directions one through each aperture, said pins being relatively slidable and together forming a leaf-holding bar.

2. In alooseLleaf binder, a cover comprising front and rear portions foldable oneach side of an intermediate portion, lhinged` .iiaps secured to the inside of the cover along the folds, said flaps being provided with oppositely arranged apertures each of which is formed with a flat side, the fiat sides of both apertures lying in a plane at right angles to the direction of fold of the'cover portions, and the apertures themselves lying on Opposite sides of this plane, cooperating vpins having h eads eng'ageable by said flaps, fltting said apertures and inserted in opposite ldirections one through .each aperture, said pins beingrelatively slidable and together forming a leaf-holding bar.

3. In a loose-leaf binder, a cover compris-v ing front and rear portions foldable'on each side of an intermediate portion, hinged flaps secured tothe inside of the .cover along the folds, said flaps being provided withoppositely arranged nonscircular apertures, cooperating pinsfittingsaid apertures and insertable in oppositey directions one through each aperture, saidv pins having co'acting flattened faces lying in a plane at right angles to the direction of fold of the cover portions, said pins being relatively slidable and together formingv a leaf-holding bar.

4L. In a loose-leaf binder, a cover comprising front and rear portions, foldable on each side of an intermediate portion, hinged flaps secured to the inside of the coveralong the folds, said flaps being provided With oppositely arranged non-circular apertures, co-

operating pins fitting said apertures and insertable in opposite directions one through each aperture, said pins having co-acting flattened faces lying in a plane at right angles to the direction offoldof the cover por'- tions, the lower portion of the upper side of eachy pin being tapered, said pinsbeing relatively slidable and'together forming aleafholding bar.

5. In a loose-leaf binder, a pair of headed pins oppositely arranged, each having vaA flat face slidably engaging the flat face of the other, the inner end portion ofeach of said pins being tapered at one side in a plane parallel to the plane embracing their flat faces.' 4

6. In a loose-leaf binder, a cover comprising front and rear portions foldable on each side of an intermediate portion, hinged flapsk secured tothe inside of said cover along-the folds, each iiap comprising a folded piece of flexible material havingfa. metallic reinforcing piece inserted therebetween, said flaps being provided with oppositely arranged noncircular apertures surrounded by counter-sunk depressions on the outer side, cooperating pinsv fitting said apertures having heads seated in v said. couiitersunk depressions and inserted in opposite directions slidable yand together forming a leaf-holda ing bar.

In combination with a body of leavesl having a cylindrical perforation there-fVv through Which .is divided into two parts with axis vdev-iating from a str ai'ght'line when thev 'l body of leaves is opena loose-leafL binder @comprising front and 'rear cover portions foldable on each side of an intermediate porso" i tion, hinged flaps secured to the `inside of the i cover portions along thefolds, said flaps bef ingprovided ywith oppositely arranged nonciicular apertures, cooperating l ,pins fitting said apertures and inserted-in opposite di'` rectionsoneA through each aperture and through said Vcylindrical perforation, said ipins having slidably engaging flattened faces lying in the plane ofangu'lar deviation of the parts of said. ,cylindricall vperforation,v

said pins each having the upper sidethereoi tapered at itsvinner end permit relative angular displacement of said pin Icorresponding to the angular deviationof saidparts' of said cylindrical perforation. y f

8. In av loose-leaf binder, a coven coin-y i` n prising front and rearv4 portions foldable on each side of an intermediate rportion, hinged flaps secured to the inside of the cover along thefolds, said'flaps being provided with .a plurality of cooperating vpairs of apertures Veach of Which is formed With a flat side, the

flat sides of some of the apertures in each i *flap being arranged in an opposite direction" to the flat `sides of the remaiiiingapertures,

cooperating pins fitting said faperturesand'` inserted in opposite directions one through each aperture, said pinseach having eoact-,v

y110 angles to the direction of fold of tliecover f i i ing fiattened faces lying ina plane'at right portions said pins being relatively slidable and together forming a, leaf-holding bar.

In testimony'whereof I have hereunto set n'iyhand in presence of tivo subscribing Witnesses. f

I-IGWARD A. DUDLEY.

Witnesses: 1 a CHAs. S. HYER, v JAMES L. Nonnrs.

an ioo I 

